Gardening, pruning, lawn care, and other outdoor activities may put you uncomfortably close to a poisonous plant. This time of year: poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, and other less common allergenic plants are full of an oily sap, known as Urushiol. These plants grow in every state throughout the US, except Alaska. Direct contact with any portion of a plant containing the poisonous sap can produce irritating symptoms that typically last for one to two weeks.

Keeping an eye out for these plants, and avoiding contact is the best way to prevent getting poison ivy. Poison ivy generally grows as a vine, and can be identified by its cluster of three leaves. The leaves on Poison oak resemble lobed oak leaves. It grows in threes on a bush, instead of a vine. Poisonous sumac grows as a small tree or bush, and has an odd number of leaves, ranging from seven to thirteen. Poison ivy thrives in partially shaded areas.

You can also get poison ivy by touching a gardening tool, gloves, or clothing that made contact with the plant’s oily sap. Petting your dog or cat, after it brushed against the plant, is another way to get poison ivy.

Some people are more sensitive, and susceptible to poison ivy than others. How your body responds depends on the immune system. A mild case of poison ivy usually clears within a week. The rash and itching may spread to various parts of your body during the process. In more severe cases, there may be blisters, a burning, itchy, red rash, fever, and swelling. Scratching the itching rash is difficult to avoid, but doing so can cause inflammation, and the rash spreading to other parts of your body. Seek a physician’s care for severe cases of poison ivy, especially those that involve swelling and fever.

How to Prevent, Relieve and Heal Mild Poison Ivy –Try one or more of these natural home remedies.

Wear gloves to bathe your furry pet, if you suspect it been near a poisonous plant.

If you come in contact with a poison ivy plant, herbalists recommend breaking open a stem of a jewelweed plant and rubbing the juice on the affected skin, immediately to prevent the itchy rash. Jewelweed grows wild along our spring branch and creek in the summer. If you don't have any growing on your property, keep a bar of jewelweed soap on hand. Bathe with jewelweed soap after working outdoors where poison ivy grows.

Bathe daily with jewelweed and oatmeal soap until rash has cleared. Jewelweed, aka as touch-me-not, is a native herb that grows wild in semi-shaded, wet areas, along creeks, streams, ponds, and swamps. It has delicate, trumpet-shaped orange flowers that hummingbirds love. Check with a local handcrafted soap maker or health food store for jewelweed soap. Herbal soaps containing comfrey and plantain are also beneficial for healing skin irritations.

Sweating causes the itching to increase, so stay out of the hot sun when suffering with a poison ivy rash.

Healing Ointment – To a spoon of coconut oil, add two drops each of lavender essential oil, frankincense essential oil, and tea tree essential oil. Rub into the affected skin area to reduce itching and prompt healing.

Itch Relief Paste – Combine 3 teaspoons of oatmeal, baking soda, or cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and stir. Apply the paste to affected skin area to relieve itching.

Apply Calamine lotion to rash to ease itching. Its drying effect also aides the healing process.

Splash rubbing alcohol on rash to cool, and ease itching.

Jewelweed soap with oatmeal, plantain and comfrey to the rescue.

Stock your herbal medicine cabinet with the above healing products, so they will be there as soon as needed. The sooner you start treatment, the better. I had mild poison ivy recently. No blisters, fever, or swelling, just a mild rash and a little itching that I was able to curtail using many of the remedies listed above. Fortunately, we keep most of these items on hand.

Here's to enjoying the great outdoors and taming your landscape this summer without suffering a bout of poison ivy.

About the Author: Deborah Tukua is a nonfiction author, and editor of Journey to Natural Living. She is author of seven books including, Naturally Sweet Blender Treats: 55 Fresh from the Blender Recipes, and Marketing Strategies for Chiropractic Success. Deborah has been a regular lifestyle feature writer for the Farmers' Almanac since 2004.​​

Itching from a tick bite? You don't have to walk deep into the woods, or wade through tall grass to come in contact with ticks. Weeding the flower bed, dining on the patio, and playing fetch with the dog, are activities we enjoy outside. Pesky ticks are also active outdoors during warm weather.

Prevention is the best way to avoid the irritating bite, the itching, and the devastating effects of Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and other tick-borne diseases. Ticks may be out in full force, but there are natural remedies that are safer to use than Deet, we can buy or make to fend them off.

CEDAR OIL SPRAY is a non-toxic, natural tick and insect repellent. It can be sprayed directly on clothing and skin. It is safe for use on humans and pets.

AROMATHERAPY OILS don't just smell great. Some essential oils are natural tick repellents too. Keep ticks off with lemon, orange, cinnamon, lavender, peppermint, or rose geranium. Any of these or a combination can be used in DIY sprays, or added to almond oil, and rubbed on exposed skin.

LEMON EUCALYPTUS, CITRONELLA AND TEA TREE oils are also known to repel ticks and insects.

After getting numerous tick bites early this spring, I began researching all the scents that repel ticks, and combined several in a DIY tick and mosquito repellent. I spray it on my shoes, legs and arms just before going on my morning walk outdoors, or when mowing our acreage of grass. This spray smells so good, it could double as air freshener.